The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute the prior art.
In the medical field, ultrasound diagnosis technology is widely known. Ultrasound diagnosis equipment is comprised of a main body for ultrasound diagnosis and an ultrasound scanner. The ultrasound scanner includes an array transducer consisting of a number of transducers for transmitting and receiving ultrasound waves. When the ultrasound scanner is positioned on the skin of body, the ultrasound waves transmitted from the array transducer is reflected back after hitting the object for diagnosis. The ultrasound diagnosis equipment processes and analyzes the reflected signals to provide a visual representation of cross-sectional images of the interior of the body through a monitor.
If the array transducer is fixedly installed in the ultrasound scanner, it is very difficult to synthesize a three-dimensional image. A user may deliberately tilt or move the ultrasound scanner to obtain a three-dimensional image but an observation of the object for diagnosis at an optimal angle and location can hardly be achieved and a distortion will occur during data acquisition.
FIG. 1 illustrates an internal constitution of conventional three-dimensional ultrasound scanner.
As illustrated, 3-D ultrasound scanner 10 is enclosed by a scanner case 12 which houses an array transducer 14 positioned in reciprocating movement due to a swing mechanism 16. Scanner case 12 is internally divided by a base 18 into two spaces. Swing mechanism 16 is positioned in a top space above base 18, and array transducer 14 is positioned in a bottom space below base 18.
Swing mechanism 16 is comprised of a motor 20 which rest on base 18, gears 22, a shaft 24, and an arm 26. Array transducer 14 is constructed to hang on swing mechanism 16 through arm 26. In this construction, when motor 20 starts, gears 22, shaft 24, and arm 26 make sequential movements for impelling array transducer 14 to carry out a swing motion about the axis of shaft 24. With repetitive swing motions of array transducer 14, there are sequentially repeated acquisitions of scanned surfaces within the range of the swing, whereby a three-dimensional ultrasound image may be generated.